A long time later, Xu Qing shook his head silently, feeling some regret.
He wanted to give it a try and see if he could neutralize the Red Moon's curse in the other party's body. He also wanted to study the principles of this curse.
Unfortunately, with Xu Qing's current ability, he couldn't undo the curse that came from the bloodline. He needed to do more research and experiments.
However, such an experiment would be bloody. It involved dissection and the inspection of inch by inch of flesh and blood. Xu Qing didn't want to try it with humans.
"Panyan," Xu Qing said softly.
The little girl hurriedly opened her eyes.
"I'm leaving in a few days."
The little girl fell silent. Her eyes were a little red and she lowered her head without saying anything.
She had known long ago that this day would come and was mentally prepared. However, the moment Xu Qing said it, her heart still trembled.
Looking at her, Xu Qing recalled the other party's hard work and seriousness in the past two months. That thirst for knowledge resonated with Xu Qing. After a long time, he made a decision.
He took out a pharmacopeia from his storage bag.
After gently stroking it a few times, Xu Qing thought of Grandmaster Bai and passed it to the little girl.
"My teacher left this for me. Today, I'll give it to you."
The little girl trembled as she lifted her small hand and took it, hugging it tightly in her arms. When she looked at Xu Qing, her eyes were filled with reluctance and she wanted to say something but hesitated.
However, she knew that her teacher and she were people from two different worlds. Hence, her many words finally turned into kowtowing.
She kowtowed nine times to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing calmly accepted it and reminded her.
"You have to study this pharmacopeia well in the future. You can go back now. You don't have to come here anymore."
The little girl silently stood up and her small and skinny figure walked to the door dejectedly. She stood there and turned to look at Xu Qing again. The tears in her eyes couldn't help but flow down.
"Teacher, will I still see you?"
Xu Qing looked at the eleven or twelve-year-old girl in front of him. He understood the other party's thoughts because a similar scene had happened to him before.
Hence, he revealed a gentle smile and nodded.
"Know that the world is the guest house of all living beings. Time is a passerby from ancient times until now. As long as we don't die, we will meet again. I hope that the day I see you again will be the day you become a talent."
The little girl remembered these words and engraved them in her heart. She took a deep breath and bowed to Xu Qing before slowly leaving the house.
She was downhearted as she walked under the night sky. She hugged the pharmacopeia tightly in her arms and mumbled as though she was holding onto hope.
"As long as we don't die, we'll meet again!"
Xu Qing stared at the little girl's departing view. He thought of Grandmaster Bai and his past self.
"Teacher, I took in a student. Her name is Shi Panyan. This little fellow is very hardworking in her studies."
Xu Qing mumbled inwardly and closed his eyes.
But in this world, all gatherings must eventually come to an end. As the heavenly fire returned to its source, three days later, Xu Qing left the Firefly City in the night, with Ling'er by his side.
Before she left, Ling'er hugged those older sisters and aunties while crying.
The Diamond Sect's ancestor was surrounded by many people who had listened to his storytelling. All of them were silent and revealed deep reluctance.
Duanmu Zang stood beside Xu Qing and sighed softly inwardly as he watched this.
Xu Qing looked at the crowd.
He saw Shi Pangui standing in the distance with his wife and sister, bidding farewell to him.
The little girl lowered her head, as though she didn't want Xu Qing to see her tears.
Xu Qing fell silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"Senior, send me out."
With that, Xu Qing turned and walked into the distance.
He left the city and the tomb.
Ling'er ended her transformation and returned to Xu Qing's collar. The Diamond Sect's ancestor also returned to the fishbone, feeling a little melancholic.
Outside this abandoned mineshaft, not only did Xu Qing leave the wine behind, but he also gave half of the spirit stones, medicinal pills, and some magic artifacts in his storage bag to Duanmu Zang.
The two of them looked at each other and nodded, each giving their blessings.
After that, one of them turned his head and walked into the mineshaft while the other headed straight for the sky.
The sky had returned to its former darkness, with no flames to be seen. Only in the direction of the sea of fire in the distance could one see the monstrous flames.
The earth was scorched, and the mountain peaks became even more irregular, piled up in a wrinkled and twisted manner. There was no plant life that could survive.
The entire world seemed to have dried up with some lingering heat left.
Xu Qing flew in the sky while suppressing the thoughts of separation. He was already used to it. It had been like this since he was young.
However, there were some things that, no matter how used to it, would still cause waves.
However, as one grew up, they would be able to better hide it.
A few days later, Xu Qing saw the Heavenly Fire Sea. As usual, that sea didn't change at all. The magma flowers would occasionally bloom and explode loudly.
Xu Qing didn't see anyone on the way.
To the cultivators of the nearby races, the heavenly fire had just ended. The first thing they had to do was to participate in the reconstruction. Hence, very few people came to the Heavenly Fire Sea immediately like Xu Qing.
On the empty Heavenly Fire Sea, Xu Qing sped all the way and he saw no one else as though he was the only one left in the entire world.
However, he was still cautious. He was going to go further and more remote places before he began to refine the life lanterns.
Just like that, another seven days passed.
When Xu Qing entered the depths of the sea of fire, he saw a red light at dusk on the seventh day.
The source of the light was an incomparably huge heart. It was beating and emitted thumping sounds that echoed through the world, forming an astonishing pressure that caused the sky and earth to change color and the wind and clouds to stir.
